Sweeney Todd Newspaper Articles
by Sweeney Todd Fanatic
Summary: I was thinking one day what it would be like if I wrote a newspaper article on Sweeney Todd, and I did. And eventually I ended up creating nine interesting articles in 'The London Times' of 1846/47. Hope you like!
1. Article 1

_A/N I decided to put the articles in chronological order of when they would have been published. This is not the order I wrote them in. Enjoy!_

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Article 1

_The London Times _

**Benjamin Barker: Innocent or Guilty?**

Benjamin Barker, the once well-know barber of Fleet Street, has been accused of robbery and assault. A trial was held today for Judge Turpin to set his verdict. Benjamin plead innocent but Judge Turpin marked him guilty. He was once a family man who had his own barber shop above Mrs. Lovett's meat pie emporium. Mr. Barker's young wife, Lucy, says that he would never hurt another living person. Was there another side to Benjamin that she wasn't aware of? Mrs. Barker says that they were always together, and even if they were not he was in his shop giving gentlemen shaves. Or was he? What about at night while everyone slept?  
Judge Turpin noted that the victim was attacked in the night. But there was no such person at the trial. Another trial will be held the day after tomorrow for the citizens of London to decide whether Mr. Barker is innocent or guilty. Upon interviewing Lucy Barker she said, 'I know my husband is innocent. He would never do such a thing that would tear us apart. He'll never get to see Johanna grow; she'll never get to know her father.' Lucy clutched her infant daughter closer to her, and, with a choked sob, hurried over to her landlady, Mrs. Lovett. It was tough talking to her, knowing how she must feel. Hearing Lucy's saddening words Londoners, will you decide Benjamin Barker to be innocent or guilty? The fate of the young barber now lies in your hands.


	2. Article 2

Article 2

_The London Times_

**Murderous Barber and Pie Maker on Fleet Street?**

At 186 Fleet Street a young boy by the name of Toby was supposedly living amongst two cannabalistic murderers. The frightened young boy ran to the police after he witnessed his surrogate mother, a Mrs. Lovett, being shoved into the large bakehouse oven by her neighbour. Upon investigation of the bakehouse the remains of Mrs. Lovett were found in the oven. The bodies of Beadle Bamford and the highly respected Judge Turpin, along with an unidentifyed woman, were found all with their throats slit. Mrs. Lovett's neighbour/cohort, Mr. Sweeney Todd, was also dead, his throat slit, too, and the believed murder weapon, a razor, lay at his side. He was also cradling the dead woman. Did he commit suicide? If not, who killed him? The boy had told us that in one of Mrs. Lovett's 'world famous' meat pies he found a human finger.  
With further investigation human remains were found in the unusually large meat grinder. When Todd's barber shop was investigated the police found all the usual items you'd find there: razors, shaving cream, and towels. But the chair was peculiar. The police noticed the chair had an odd mechanism that, when the foot pedal was operated, the chair folded back so it was flat revealing a trap door behind it. As you peer down the hole you'll see at the bottom the bodies of Judge Turpin and Beadle Bamford. With the evidence they had collected - the trap door, slit throats, and human meat pies - it's easy to say that they were murderers taking in poor men offering them a shave then serving them up in a pie for the town of London to enjoy. Toby later confessed that he was the one to kill Mr. Todd, saying 'I slit his throat in anger 'cause he killed Mrs. Lovett who I trusted and to put an end to his murderous ways'. So Londoners, have you eaten one of Mrs. Lovett's pies where the meat came from men who were shaved by the demon barber of Fleet Street?


	3. Articles 3 & 4

Article 3

_The London Times _

**What Happened to Pirelli?**

After showing up at St. Dunstans Market every Thursday for quite awhile now, Adolfo Pirelli, the well known barber hasn't shown up for two weeks. Witnesses reported seeing him and his boy, Toby, talking to Mrs. Lovett. They claimed the boy went with Lovett while Pirelli went up to Mr. Todd's barber shop. Did he ever come out? Many now think that he was Sweeney's first victim. When Toby was questioned about his master's whereabouts he said, 'I had heard a loud thud come from above us and I remembered Signor Pirelli's appointment and gone up to get him before he was late. When I got there Mr. Todd had told me that he was called away and that I should go back downstairs and wait for him. When I told him that I should stay up there he got very suspicious looking and ordered me to head back down.' He stayed with Mrs. Lovett never bothering to look for his master or notifying the police.  
Seeming the boy heard a thud above him it's most likely that Todd struck him down. But why? Toby also said that earlier that morning Mr. Todd had challenged Pirelli to a shaving contest. Todd bet five pounds and won the contest. Had Pirelli gone back to Todd asking for his money back? Possibly. Todd was probably angered by Pirelli wanting the money back which he had won fair and square. Who knows. All we can say based on the evidence the witnesses and boy gave us is that Pirelli was most likely the first victim of Todd's mysterious string of killings.

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_A/N The Lovett one below isn't my favorite, it's just too short._

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Article 4

**What Led Mrs. Lovett to Making Human Meat Pies?**

After not bringing in enough money from her original meat pies, Mrs. Lovett supposedly concocted the sickening idea of making her pies out of Mr. Todd's customers. If it was her who came up with the plan or Mr. Todd himself we'll never know for they are both deceased. The town of London is shocked at the revealing of the ingredients in her once famous pies. Another question that comes to mind is, 'Why did Mr. Sweeney Todd agree with Mrs. Lovett?' Or, 'Was he mentally insane?' Or, 'What led to his crimes? Was he after revenge for something?' We'll never know what was truly wrong with them.


	4. Article 5

_A/N Yet another short article..._

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Article 5

_The London Times_

**Mayhem at Fogg's Asylum**

The owner of Fogg's Asylum, Mr. Fogg, was brutally beat and murdered by his blonde inmates last night. The police can't find who'd done this; the lunatics won't talk. They've been questioned many times on what the man, or woman, looked like that had locked Fogg in with them. The redheads and brunettes are still safely locked away saying that they only remember hearing alot of noise, along with Fogg's screams, coming from the blondes' cell. Police have been ordered, for the safety of the public, to execute the blondes in fear that they are more dangerous than before. All the other inmates will be relocated to Bedlam by the end of the week.


	5. Articles 6 & 7

Article 6

_The London Times_

**Judge Turpin Brutally Murdered**

The great Judge Turpin was found dead when police investigated Mrs. Lovett's bakehouse. The odd thing about his death was that his was more violent than the woman's or Beadle Bamford's. Beadle Bamford's throat was slit as was the woman's. But Judge Turpin was stabbed many times in the jugular and his throat was slit. Why did Sweeney do more than just slit his throat? Did he hold a grudge against him? Police are still investigating the Judge's bizzare murder to figure out why Todd would take out alot of anger on him. Did something happen between them in the past? Or was Todd just in a really bad mood that night and needed to take his anger out on someone and that someone just so happened to be the judge? All of Sweeney's victim's throats were supposedly just slit as we could see on the two other bodies down in the bakehouse next to Turpin.

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Article 7

**Where did Johanna Barker Disappear to?**

Judge Turpin's ward, Johanna Barker, disappeared shortly before the judge was murdered. No one knows if she ran away or if someone took her. Did Sweeney have anything to do with this, too? The police are searching all over London for her but the girl is nowhere to be found. Was she a victim of Sweeney's? Most likely not for she is not a man in need of a shave. But then again there was that woman he had killed. There are also no witnesses to lend support to her whereabouts.


	6. Article 8

Article 8

_The London Times_

**Nellie Lovett Found Burned in Bakehouse Oven**

Nellie Lovett had once been a well-known baker of meat pies at 186 Fleet Street. Recently, though, her pies had taken on a new flavour that was more enjoyable than that of the pies she made before. As in a previous article, I stated that she was most likely the one to concoct the sickening plan of turning Todd's customers into pies. Why the sudden change of ingredients? Once again it was because she was not bringing in enough money. Mrs. Lovett also seemed to have a competition with Mrs. Mooney, another meat pie maker, who's pies were recently discovered to be made out of cats. Business was always good for her until now. Toby reported that Mrs. Lovett always brought up Mrs. Mooney whenever she was talking to him and how her business was doing a bit better nowadays than Mooney's. Also Toby said that she was in love with Mr. Sweeney Todd, whom as we found out, only loved his wife who is probably dead. The question though is: Why did he kill her? The boy said that Nellie had lied about something to Mr. Todd and that is why he killed her. When asked what, Toby said he couldn't recall because he was in the sewers at the time and their conversation was too quiet for him to hear. Was the dead woman Sweeney was holding possibly his wife? Is that what Nellie lied about? If only one of them were still alive to answer all the questions that we want answered.


	7. Article 9

Article 9

_The London Times_

**Sweeney Todd's True Identity Discovered**

Once a well-know barber in London, people are appalled by what he had done. Fifteen years ago he worked in the same shop by the name of Benjamin Barker. How we found this out? From Tobias Ragg. He reported hearing Todd scream 'Benjamin Barker' up in his shop...just before he killed Judge Turpin. Upon looking into Mr. Todd's or shall we say Mr. Barker's past the police had found that he was deported to Australia for life after being accused of some false crime. Is that why he killed the judge? He was after all the one who had sent him away. After suffering in Australia for fifteen years Benjamin Barker escaped the island and returned to London under a new name, Sweeney Todd. Believed to be driven by revenge for the loss of his family it is said the he seeked to kill Judge Turpin. But why all the others? The citizens of London believe that he only killed those men for Mrs. Lovett to use in her pies. One man, who had gotten a shave from the barber, said that he was very happy his wife and child were with him because if they were not he'd most likely be dead. There's is no telling how many men he killed; the only ones we know of are: Adolfo Pirelli, Judge Turpin, Beadle Bamford, the woman, and Mrs. Nellie Lovett. Why did a man who was once so good come back so evil? The answer though we already know: Judge Turpin. Many citizens of London are glad to hear that he is dead after the foul crimes he committed. So, in conclusion, were any of you fine men planning on getting a shave sometime soon from the notorious demon barber?


End file.
